Summary
Online anonymous marketplaces are a relatively recent technological development that enables sellers and buyers to transact online with far stronger anonymity guarantees than are available on traditional electronic commerce platforms. This has led certain individuals to engage in transactions of illicit or illegal goods.
We investigated how commerce on online anonymous marketplaces evolved after the takedown of the AlphaBay marketplace. Namely, we studied, over the summers of 2017 and 2018, a collection of market- places – Dream Market, TradeRoute, Berlusconi, and Valhalla. In this report, we present an analysis of sales, with a focus on the drug supply coming from the European Union (EU).
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EDMR2019_BackgroundReport_Darknet.pdf
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Additional information
This paper was commissioned by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) to provide background material to inform and contribute to the drafting of the EU Drug Markets Report (EDMR) 2019.
This background paper was produced under contract no CT.18.SAS.0023.1.0 and we are grateful for the valuable contribution of the authors. The paper has been cited within the EDMR 2019 and is also being made available online for those who would like further information on the topic. However, the views, interpretations and conclusions set out in this publication are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the EMCDDA or its partners, any EU Member State or any agency or institution of the European Union.
